


Family isn't always blood

by Overwatch_queen_olicity



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Hiatus, stepmom Felicity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 08:36:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16059473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Overwatch_queen_olicity/pseuds/Overwatch_queen_olicity
Summary: This is just a mini series that I'd been thinking about for a while now. Hopefully this will help fill the gap in our hearts that is the Arrow hiatus.-this series has lots of angst with a very happy ending!





	1. Broken glass

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place almost directly after the season finale (6.23)

  
This was bullshit. Bullshit that Ricardo Diaz is free while Oliver is in prison. Bullshit that they have to leave town. Bullshit that this incredible boy in front of her not only lost his mother, but his father now too.

They rode back to their house in silence. It was depressing going back. Bullet holes riddled the walls, broken glass on every square inch of the floor, tables, cabinets, shelves, everything was ruined. The home they had worked so hard to build, was destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"William, why don't you go to your room and pack a few bags"

William nodded his head and trudged his way to him room. Felicity sighed and made her way to her own room, the room she shared with Oliver. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She had to stay strong, for William. She finally understood where Oliver was coming from all those years ago- "if I grieve, than no one else gets to"

She grabbed an old duffle bag and started throwing cloths in it. Mostly jeans a few nice shirts, a couple dresses, some pajamas. After she had packed most of her clothes she grabbed some of Oliver's. She packed his hoodie and some of his shirts. She grabbed the framed picture of them on their wedding day from their nightstand before zipping up the bag.

William was waiting for her in the living room. He was staring at the floor, Felicity cleared her throat, "We gotta go buddy". William didn't say a word, he just nodded his head and stood up.

It was a long car ride, about 30 minutes and William had dozed off, leaning against Felicity's shoulder. She started thinking about a lot of things. About how mad she was that Oliver didn't tell her about his plan. Even though she was mad, she understood why he did it. It wasn't because he didn't trust her, in fact he trusted her so much that he feels okay leaving William, because he knows Felicity will be there. He didn't trust himself, he also knew if he told her, Felicity would probably have talked him out of it, he didn't trust himself to do what was necessary to save the city. It's not like he lied to her, he tried to tell her, but each time they kept getting interrupted. William shifted in his sleep and that's when another realization dawned on her. She was a single parent. She was now completely responsible for another humans life. She couldn't be the cool, fun stepmom anymore, she has to be an actual parent. Now she has to be responsible with making sure he eats healthy, and gets to school on time, and gets picked up. She has to make sure he gets good grades, and makes new friends, she needs to make sure he sleeps properly and wakes up at certain times. She needs to make sure he doesn't feel alone and that he knows he can talk to her. Holy shit that's a lot of pressure

•••

When an A.R.G.U.S. agent handed her the folder containing her new identity she almost broke down right there.

Name: Riley Preston   
Occupation: single mom, Barista   
age: 26  
Education Level: Basic   
Family: 1 son (Noah Preston)   
Address: Hub City, 2608 N. Central apt# 813

It was at that point that another realization dawned on her. A fear Felicity thought she had gotten past. In the back of her mind, it was always the thing she worried most about. She had done everything in her power to make sure it didn't happen. She studied hard and went to college, got her degree, moved away. She did everything she possibly could but here she was. Her greatest fear... She's just like her mom. Now, don't get her wrong, Felicity loves her mom with all her heart, but that doesn't mean she loved the way they used to live. A tear slipped down her cheek as she realized she came full circle. Small two bedroom apartment, single parent, waitressing. She worked her ass off her entire life, slowly climbing out of Vegas, she was about to be CEO of her own damn company! No matter how bad she wanted to, she couldn't be that person anymore. Not now and maybe not ever.   
•••

Felicity had done everything they said. She died her hair and started styling it differently. She changed her clothes and her usual makeup. But she put her foot down when they told her she couldn't wear her ring.

"I've said yes to everything John. I will not say yes to this". Diggle sighed, "Felicity it's only out in public. It's for your own protection, it wouldn't be that bad". Felicity slowly turned around, "not that bad?". Diggle knew he made a mistake now, "Felicity, I didn't mean it like that-". She interrupted him, "Not that bad? Let me paint you a picture John. Lyla was captured during a mission. You don't know if she's okay but the people who captured her have now put a target on your back and Sara's. You change your name, your job, your entire life, oh yeah and your also completely isolated from all your friends and family. Don't forget that you've actually only known Sara for six months, but now your her only parent. Also the one and only physical connection you still have with Lyla you can't wear". Diggle stayed silent, as Felicity took a deep breath, "so I dare you John, tell me again it's not that bad". Diggle still didn't say anything, he just put his head down. "I'm not taking off my ring. End of story"

It was the last day, the last day she was gonna be Felicity Smoak. Tomorrow she started her new life, William too. There was an A.R.G.U.S. agent briefing them on all last minute details, "I think you two have everything down. Just make sure you don't call each other the wrong names in public. Also William, make sure you call Felicity 'mom' strictly for appearances". Williams lip started quivering but he didn't say anything. Eventually they were sent on their way to their new apartment. Everything was unpacked and ready to go. The second the agents left Felicity turned to William, "You know you don't have to right?". William just stared at her, "Don't have to what?". Felicity gave a small smile, "You do not have to call me your mom". William looked at her with wide eyes, "but the agent said-". Felicity shook her head, "I don't care what anybody says. You don't have to call me that. You already have a mom, just because she's not with us doesn't mean she's not your mom. I'm not gonna take that away from you". William cried as he hugged her. Silent tears and he didn't say anything, he just cried.


	2. Broken dreams

" _We got you surrounded Queen". Two guys held Oliver's arms back as one stood in front of him. "You really ain't that tough without your fancy little bow and arrows huh?". Oliver didn't say anything he just kept trying to get free. "You probably don't remember me, but I sure as hell remember you. You crashed my deal. Shot me in leg, it kinda felt like this-". Right then the man talking pulled out a knife and rammed it into the side of Oliver's leg". Oliver let out a groan as the man pulled the knife out of his leg. "It fucking hurts don't it!". Oliver was breathing heavy, the man must have pierced an artery because Oliver was bleeding pretty bad. "When I'm done with you your gonna be in a world of hurt. And after I put you in a world of hurt, I'm gonna find your pretty little wife and son and I'm gonna put them in a world of hurt". Oliver surged forward as far as he could, "don't you dare talk about my family". The man just shrugged, "I'll find them and hurt them, eventually". Oliver was practically growling, "Over my dead body". The man chuckled, "That could be arranged". Once again the man stabbed Oliver, only this time he did it right in his chest._

_Oliver heard a voice: "Hey! What're you guys doing over there?"_

_The two guys holding Oliver dropped him and took off running, the man who had just stabbed him took off running too. Oliver clutched his abdomen and his hands immediately got soaked in blood. The guard ran over, "Injured prisoner in Cell Block C!"._

_Oliver looked at his bloodied hands as he began to see spots, "I'm so sorry Felicity-"_

***  
She woke up screaming. She sat straight up, her chest was heaving and her throat was dry. It felt like she was choking. She reached her hand to the right searching for him, but all she found were empty sheets, this caused her to panic more. Then she remembered. He's gone. That's the reason she woke up screaming for the fifth night in a row.

That's usually the part in the nightmare when Felicity wakes up, screaming, crying, yearning for her husband to come home and be safe. She always reaches her hand out for him, he's been the only one there to ground her for so long, that now she doesn't know how to calm down after these nightmares.

She's still hyperventilating. She's trying to breathe, she really is trying so hard, but she just can't. She can't seem to get control, not without Oliver. No. She can't start thinking about him, that will only make her breathing worse. She hugged her knees to her chest and shut her eyes tight, willing herself to breathe properly. All train of thought went out the door when she felt a pair of hands gently grip her shoulders.

"Felicity! Hey, hey, hey, open your eyes. Felicity it's me. Please, just open your eyes".

Somehow, she managed to open her eyes, "William?".

William nodded his head, "Yes. It's just me, but you have to breathe. Look at me Felicity, just breathe with me. Okay? One. Two".

After a minute or so Felicity finally started breathing normally, "William, what are you doing in here?".

Both Felicity and William stood up. "I heard you scream. I, um, thought you were in trouble". Felicity looked behind William and saw his steel baseball bat laying on the floor. Felicity looked back at William, "You came in here to protect me?".

William shrugged and looked down at his feet, "Well, dads not here to do it so, I guess, I just figured. I don't know".

Felicity took a step towards William and pulled him into a firm hug. After a second he hugged her back. Felicity eventually let go and grabbed Williams shoulders, she looked him straight in the eye, "You are such a good person. You are kind and brave and strong. I know I've only known you for a little while, but I really do love you Will". William just smiled and nodded his head. "Also, just so you know. We won't ever be in any danger. We're at a safe house, no one knows where we are or who we are. There are ARGUS agents right next door 24/7. We're safe, Will. Your dad made sure of that".

William frowned, "It was about him right?". Felicity cocked her head to side, a confused look on her face. "Dad. Your screaming, the fast breathing, it was because of dad. Wasn't it?" Felicity looked away and bit her lip, fighting the tears that were threatening to pour down her face. "You can be honest with me Felicity. I know you act brave for me, but I also know you're hurting. You don't have to hide it from me, I promise I'll be okay. I know this past week have been hard for you, but if you ever need to tell someone about your day, you can tell me".

That did it. She could do nothing as tears poured down her face and she let out a soft chuckle, "You sound exactly like your dad. In fact I'm pretty sure he's said those exact words to me before". William smiled sadly, "I bet he misses you". Felicity sighed, "I think he misses both of us".

William didn't say anything after that and it took a while, but Felicity finally spoke up, "Will, it's really late. As much as I appreciate you coming in here, you really need to get some sleep".

William glanced at the clock, it was 2:00am. "Yeah, I was actually just about to head back to my room". William retrieved his baseball bat and started for the door. At the last second he turned around, "goodnight Felicity". Felicity smiled, "goodnight William". As soon as William shut the door Felicity flopped back on the bed. Too exhausted to sleep and too tired to stay awake. After a while she smiled to herself, "What would I do without my Queen boys".


	3. Broken days

All the days since Oliver's arrest had been hard, but today was going to be especially hard. It was Mothers Day. 

Felicity couldn't call her mom and William, dear god, Felicity didn't even want to imagine the pain William would be going through today. She had a plan for today though, a plan that would hopefully ease his pain just a tiny bit. As Felicity reluctantly pulled herself out of bed she made her way to the kitchen. She was halfway through cutting up fruit when she heard someone clear their throat. The second she turned around she gasped. William was standing there holding a small box and card. He had a small smile on his face, "Happy Mother's Day Felicity". She didn't say anything as she slowly walked over and took the card. It was light pink and had tiny cut outs of white flowers all along the edge. The front of the card read: "For the best stepmother-". Tears welled up in her eyes as she read the inside: "-Because family isn't always blood", next to it was a small hand written note: "Thank you for always being there. You'll never know how much I appreciate you, love William". Tears were rolling down Felicity's cheek as she pulled William into a fierce hug, "I love this and you so much". William just nodded his head as he pulled back, "I'm glad. Here I got you this too". He put the small box in her hand, "William, this is so sweet. You didn't have too". He shrugged, "I wanted to". Felicity pulled off the small bow and opened the box. Inside was a beautiful pair of pink quartz earrings. "William they're gorgeous. I love them". William nodded his head, "If you don't mind I think I'm gonna skip baseball practice today. I'm not feeling too well". Felicity's head snapped up, "actually I already called your coach and told him you wouldn't be attending today-", William looked at her confused, "You and I need to go somewhere, so get dressed because Mr. Diggle will be picking us up soon". 

William and Felicity were dressed and ready by the time Diggle pulled up. Felicity ran up and hugged him as soon as she saw him, "John! I've missed you so much!". He hugged her tight. No one had been in contact with Felicity for a while, not since her and William had gone into hiding. "It's good to see you Felicity. You to William". The boy gave a small nod as Felicity ushered them in the car. The drive was long, William stared out the window the entire time, lost in thought. Suddenly though the car came to a halt and Felicity turned around, "we're here". William looked around as they got out of the car. "Where are we?". Felicity slowly made her way around the car, "Central city cemetery". Williams head snapped to the side, "This, this is where my mom is buried". Felicity nodded as she handed him a bouquet of yellow daisies. "These were her favorite, how did you know?". Felicity shrugged, "I did my research". William arched an eyebrow as Felicity shook her head, "not in like a creepy stalker way. It wasn't like that, it actually wasn't that hard I just had to ask around. Not many people to ask so that was a little hard I guess, but that's not the point". William had a huge grin on his face and Diggle just chuckled. William loved when Felicity would babble, it was the comic relief he always needed. William looked down at the flowers and then back up at Felicity before throwing his arms around her, "Thank you so much". Felicity wrapped her arms around him too, "of course. Take as much time as you need. We'll be waiting here whenever your ready to go". William nodded his head as he jogged over to his mothers grave. 

Felicity watched him lay the flowers across the ground before sitting down in front of them, Felicity smiled to herself.

"This is a real sweet thing you did Felicity". 

Felicity shrugged, "I feel so bad. He's had to go through so much and I have no idea how to ease his pain, I just-", Felicity took a deep breath, "-I just want him to be happy". Diggle didn't say anything so Felicity continued, "Did I tell you he got me a present? Like an actual Mother's Day present with a card and everything?". Diggles eyes got wide, "I guess your not a stepmom in training anymore". Felicity nervously laughed, "yeah. I guess I'm not". 

They talked like that for a couple hours. Just catching up, trading stories. It was a long time before William walked back over to the car. Felicity stopped mid conversation to turn to him, "are you sure you want to go? Because like I said there's no rush, I don't have anywhere to be and I had Dig clear his schedule for the day, so if you want to stay a little longer-". William cut her off with a hand on her arm, "Felicity. I'm fine, I'm ready to go. I promise".

Felicity released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, "well okay then. You wanna stop at Big Belly Burger on the way home?". William smiled and nodded enthusiastically. 

Diggle just shook his head, "I take it you still haven't learned to cook Felicity?". 

Felicity glared at him, but before she could say anything William spoke, "Don't worry Felicity, you make a mean bowl of cereal". 

Felicity couldn't help but smile as she gasped and Diggle laughed out loud. "Both of you better stop before I force feed you one of my home cooked meals". That shut both William and Diggle up real fast, but they couldn't contain the few stray laughs that escaped their mouths. 

After Diggle dropped them off at their saw house Felicity and William change into their pajamas and headed for the couch. William had a pint of Rocky road in his hand and Felicity had a bowl of mint chocolate chip. They spent the rest of the day watching movies and eating icecream and somehow Mothers Day wasn't as bad as they thought it was going to be.


	4. Broken hearts

"Ha! See! I told you, I'm an Injustice 2 master! Face it Felicity, you'll never be able to beat me". 

Felicity made a fake pouty face as she set the controller down. After Felicity had helped William finish his homework, she suggested they play a video game. William had warned her that he would beat her every time but she didn't listen. It was only after the sixth time she lost did she finally give up. "I can't believe I can recover data from a laptop filled with bullets but I can't beat my stepson at a stupid video game". 

William chuckled for a second before looking at her, "Hey you never told me the story". 

Felicity raised her eyebrows, "exactly what story are you taking about?". 

William grinned, "The story about the bullet filled computer, you promised you would tell me one day". Felicity smiled fondly at the memory of her first meeting with Oliver. "Alright get comfy it's story time". 

William sat crisscrossed in front of her, "Oh my god! He did not say that! That's the lamest excuse ever!". 

Felicity laughed with him, "I swear. He said , my coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood. And I just didn't even know what to say at that point". 

William was extremely curious now about how his dad and stepmom used to be, "can you tell me other stories? About you and dad?".

Felicity smiled again, "Of course, what do you want to hear about?".

Williams eyes gleamed, "everything". 

For the next two hours all they did was eat ice cream and listen to Felicity's stories. Felicity told about how Oliver told her he was the Arrow. She told him about when he asked her to leave with him and about all their adventures in Thailand, Bali and Positano. She told him about their house in Ivy Town, she told him how he proposed to her. All the stories she could think of. It was fun and it was a great distraction. Eventually she sent him to bed, only after she promised to tell him more stories another time. As she was washing the bowls she was smiling, reminiscing about Oliver was really making her miss him more than usual. She threw on one of his old shirts before going to bed. The shirt still smelled like him, and she hugged herself trying to smell it as much as possible. Damn she missed her husband. Felicity decided she was going to look into ways to free Oliver, maybe then and only then could they return to their normal lives.


	5. Broken and bloody

She had just finished her shift at the coffee shop, she honesty didn't even know how she got into this situation but here she was. 

"Not so tough now are you!", Felicity didn't even know this guy, but he knew her well. She just stood there, fists clenched at her side. "Ain't got your green arrow husband here to protect you anymore!". So that's how he knew her, she was in trouble now. She was supposed to hit the panic button installed in her watch, so that a team of A.R.G.U.S. Agent could come to her rescue, but not this time. This time, she was fighting back. The guy was advancing towards her, taunting her, threatening her. She just had to remember her training. She just had to remember everything Oliver, Diggle, Sara, and Roy ever taught her: wide stance, shoulders back, wrist straight, aim for the nose. All of it worked, for the most part. He got a couple pretty good hits on her, but she was finally able to hit him right on the bridge of his nose. He grabbed his face and stumbled back, tripping on an empty bottle. Felicity saw this as her opportunity to run. As she started running, the other guy started chasing. Felicity ducked behind a corner and pressed herself as far up against the wall as possible. She was planning on just hiding there until the guy gave up, but that was before she spotted the metal pipe on the ground. The second she saw it she grabbed it and adjusted her grip so she was holding it like a baseball bat. 

"Where are you bitch!". 

She could hear him yelling, he was definitely getting closer, as long as she stayed around the corner until he got within range she would be good. She stood position and ready and when she heard footsteps approaching she swung. 

*BAM*

The man fell to the ground and Felicity dropped the pipe. The guy laid on the ground, obviously unconscious. Felicity quickly felt his pulse and when she knew he was still breathing she took off. She ran the entire way back to the apartment. The second she closed the door she locked it and put the chain on. She closed her eyes and caught her breath. She didn't open them until she heard his voice. 

"What the hell!" 

Felicity's eyes snapped open and their stood William, eyes wide with fear looking her up and down.

"William oh my god. What are you doing here? Baseball practice doesn't end for another hour". William practically ran up to her, "It got canceled, Felicity! What the hell, your bleeding! What happened to you!". Felicity walked across the living room and looked in the mirror, damn she looked bad. Her lip was split and swollen, there was a huge gash on her head that was dripping blood, her apron was ripped and her knuckles were bruised and bloody. 

"William. I promise it's not a big deal-". 

He cut her off, "Not a big deal? Felicity, you got attacked! You're head is bleeding!". Felicity gently put both her hands on his shoulders. "It was just some angry guy. I'm the one who chose to fight him off. Trust me I've been hurt worse before. All I need is to get these cuts cleaned up and I promise you I will be okay". 

William was shaking, "You promise your gonna be okay?". Felicity nodded her head confidently, "don't you worry. I swear I will let you know if anything changes but for right now. I'm totally fine". 

William was still shaking as Felicity went to the sink. William made a promise to himself right then and there that no one would hurt Felicity ever again. 

•••

She couldn't sleep. This was normal though, Felicity found it damn near impossible to sleep without Oliver next to her. She swore she would never get used to it. So she got herself out of bed, intent on heading to the kitchen for water. Although the second she opened the door she softly gasped. Right next to the door sat a sleeping William, clutching his steel baseball bat. Felicity's heart melted at the sight. She wondered how long he had been sitting out here before he dozed off to sleep? She really hoped not too long. She crouched down beside him and gently shook him awake, "Will, wake up"

He jumped a little bit as he awoke and he was breathing fast, "don't worry. It's just me". This seemed to calm him down a little, "Will why aren't you sleeping in your bed?"

William shrugged and looked away, "I just thought I'd stay here incase the guy who hurt you tried to come back". 

Felicity smiled, how did she get so lucky to have a kid like him? "William, we're safe here. You can go back to your room, you don't have to worry about me". William stood up, "I do have to worry about you thought! How do I know if your gonna be attacked again or not? I don't! What if next time it's worse! What if next time it's more than just one guy! What if they do more damage!". Felicity put her hands on Williams shoulders again, she felt extremely guilty for causing him so much stress, "Will, I know seeing me hurt was scary but I need you to trust me. I need you to trust that I can take care of myself. I was surviving long before your father or Mr. Diggle or anyone else started protecting me. I'm very capable of dealing with my own problems and I need to to trust that that's true. Okay?". William swallowed hard and slowly nodded, "okay". 

After she finally got William back in his own bed and asleep she too went back to her own room. Felicity made a decision that night, she needed to get Oliver out. Now. No matter the consequences.


	6. Finally whole.

"Dammit Felicity! Why didn't you hit your panic button!", Diggle was furious with her after finding out that she had been attacked. 

"I already told you, I was tired of running, I had to fight back!". 

Diggle just shook his head and sighed, "We gotta get him out". 

Felicity nodded in agreement, "that's what I wanted to talk to you about. This whole incident made me realize...". 

She didn't have to finish her sentence, Diggle knew exactly what she was thinking. 

"I just have no idea how to do it! Breaking him out would be difficult but doable, I have no idea where we would go after he's out, the whole country would be on lockdown until they found him again".

Diggle didn't say anything, but it was obvious he was deep in thought. He looked up at her, "I think I have an idea" 

•

"Welcome to Slabside Maximum Security Prison. I'm gonna need your name, proof of identity, and the name of the prisoner your visiting". John Diggle sighed as he took out his wallet and handed the man his drivers license, "I'm John Diggle, here to visit Oliver Queen". The guard nodded as he spoke into his radio, "Tell inmate 4587 he's got a visitor". The guard turned back to Diggle, "you can wait for him at the third window". Diggle nodded as he walked over. 

•

Oliver was secretly hoping with everything in him that it was Felicity visiting. Even though he knew it wasn't, that she wasn't aloud to visit him. Still, it didn't hurt to hope. The sad truth was confirmed when he sat down at window three and saw Dig sitting across the glass. He picked up the phone and slowly raised it to his ear, "hey Dig" 

Diggle chuckled, "That's really all you have to say man?". 

Oliver frowned, "How's Felicity?".

Diggles face immediately turned cold, "that's actually I'm I'm here-", at his words Oliver's heart dropped to his stomach, "-she got attacked Oliver".

Oliver's face was unreadable, but if you looked into his eyes you could see the pure, uncontrolled rage begging to come out. His hand was gripping the phone with extreme force and every muscle in his body was stiff. He wanted to stand up, smash through the glass, and murder the person who dared to lay a finger on his wife. He didn't though, he somehow controlled him self enough to articulate words, "How bad?". You could hear the anger in his voice. 

"not too bad. She has a couple cuts and bruises on her face and arms. Nothing too severe, and don't worry William wasn't with her". 

Oliver didn't relax at all. This almost seemed to make him tense up more, his voice was barely above a whisper, "break me out". Diggles eyes widened, "Really? It's that easy?". 

Oliver just repeated his sentence, "Break. Me. Out.". Diggle nodded his head, "expect something to happen around 8:00pm tomorrow. Got it?". Oliver gritted his teeth and nodded as he hung up the phone as two guards took him back. 

Oliver broke the punching bag in the workout room that night. 

For the first time in their lives, everything went right. There was five people breaking Oliver out. Felicity was hacking the prison systems, shutting down security cameras and turning off sensory beams. Diggle, Thea, and Roy were doing the more hands on stuff including taking care of guards and sneaking Oliver out successfully. Barry was waiting on the outside, as soon as everybody was out he flashed them away. It would have been much easier for Barry to just run in and quickly get Oliver out, but freeing Oliver was a personal vendetta, it was something everyone needed to do for themselves. They had decided not to include Dinah, Rene, or Curtis simply because for this mission they needed people they trusted with their lives, and truth be told, NTA would never earn that kind of trust, too much had happened. 

Barry dropped everyone off at a small motel hidden in the middle of nowhere. An A.R.G.U.S. vehicle would be by in an hour to drop off Felicity and William, and Oliver couldn't wait. Diggle had thought ahead and in the bathroom was a toothbrush and some toothpaste, along with a change of clothes for Oliver. Inconspicuous clothes, just a pair of jeans, a grey shirt and some running shoes. He had also brought his brown leather jacket for him. Oliver hugged everyone. He was beyond happy to see Thea, and he was glad she was happy with Roy. He hugged Diggle and thanked him profusely, after apologizing a thousand times. "You gotta stop apologizing man, you know Felicity hates that". Oliver chucked and Diggle patted his back.

A few seconds later they heard the sound of a car engine, "Diggle had this huge grin on his face as he looked at Oliver, "Go see your family man" 

Oliver ran out of the motel. The second he got to the parking lot he saw her. She was climbing out of the truck, she had ripped jeans and a red flannel on. The tips of her hair were died hot pink and she had a nose ring. The thing he also noticed were her bruises. They were all over her face, there was a huge gash on her forehead, her lip was split and under her right eye was all black and blue. She still looked gorgeous. Oliver just stared at her, not daring to make the first move. As soon as her feet touched the ground she saw him. She let out a small gasp, "Oliver". She ran to him as fast as she could and threw her arms around his waist. He immediately encased her in himself, wrapping his arms around her too, not loosening his grip for even a second. It felt like they stayed that way for hours, holding one another. Felicity eventually pulled back and looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. Suddenly he couldn't wait anymore, he used both his hands to gently cup her face and kiss her. After what seemed like a decade they heard someone clear their throat. They slowly broke apart, not caring who was staring or for how long. Felicity had tears in her eyes, "I've missed you so much". He softly stroked his thumb over the cut on her cheek, "you'll never have to miss me again. I promise"

William was ecstatic when he saw Oliver. He ran right into his arms and Oliver had been so happy to see him. He cried as he held him, Oliver never wanted to be apart from his son or wife ever again. They had one night in the hotel to get all the last minute details in order before Diggle got them out. He had arranged for an A.R.G.U.S. helicopter to pick them up the next day. From there they would fly across the Canadian border and into Vancouver. Oliver was still having trouble processing it as Felicity was explaining it. 

"won't they be able to come get me though?". 

Felicity shook her head and smiled, "They can't come for you unless your on American soil. And as long as you don't break any laws in Canada your fine. They could never get you". Oliver was still frowning, "Felicity, we would never be able to go back home. That's not the kind of life you deserve".

She scoffed, "Oliver, thats the kind of life I want, William too. When I discussed this with him he seemed so happy. I can always fly my mom out if I want to see her and I've already had all the papers transferred, SmoakTech is now a Canadian company", she paused for a second, "We did it Oliver, Star City is safe... we saved the city. We've earned this life, this is a chance at a normal life." Oliver smiled, "and your 100% sure this is what you and William want?". She nodded enthusiastically, "I'm sure". 

*7 years later*

"Oliver come on! We're going to be late!". Oliver chuckled, "calm down hon, I don't think Will is gonna notice if we're five minutes late". Oliver and Felicity were getting ready to go to Williams gradation ceremony. William had excelled in high school, he was going to be graduating within the top 1% of his class and he was captain of the Varsity baseball team, he had gotten a full ride baseball scholarship to McGill University, arguably lone of the best schools in the country. 

Felicity sighed as she continued putting her heels on, "I know he's not gonna notice, but he's graduating highschool! It's a big deal and I think it's important that we be there on time". Oliver smiled and kissed her forehead. He was about to speak when a little blonde burst of pure sunshine came running in the room. 

"Mommy! Daddy! Look how pretty my dress is!" 

Oliver crouched down as the five year old threw herself into his arms, he stood up with her resting against his hip, "You look absolutely gorgeous Emily". Felicity came up next to him and put her hand on Emily's back, "gorgeous indeed sweetheart". Emily just smiled and looked at her dress, "auntie Thea bought me this dress when she came to visit, she said I should wear this on a very special occasion. And today is special isn't it!". 

Felicity smiled at her daughter, "It is very special. You picked the perfect dress for the occasion". Oliver chimed in, "You and your mother are going to be the prettiest girls in the room". Felicity smirked, "are you flattering me Mr. Queen?", Oliver smirked back at her, "I'm simply telling the truth Mrs. Queen". Felicity leaned in, "well in the case-", she whispered before kissing him. 

Their kiss was short lived as their daughter started protesting in Oliver's arms, "No more kissing!". Emily used both her hands to push Oliver's face to the side, far away from Felicity's lips. Felicity sighed, "Hey Emily do you know what time it is?". Emily shook her head as Felicity continued, "it's tickle time!". Emily screamed as she tried to escape from Oliver's arms but he held onto her tight as Felicity began tickling their daughter, laughter escaping from all three of their lips. They were the perfect family, and they couldn't be happier.

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? Let me know down below! :)


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